Betty Lou (Walters) Parks, 79, of Lake Jackson, Texas, passed away on December 9, 2021, in Springfield, Missouri, due to non-covid heart complications. She was born in Mason, Texas, on December 2, 1942, to Barney and Merdie (Danz) Walters and was a long-time resident of Norwich, Connecticut, and Lake Jackson, Texas.

She grew up in San Antonio, Texas, where she attended Breckenridge High School and San Antonio College. She obtained her RN from Baptist Memorial Hospital School of Nursing and served out her career in psychiatric nursing at the Norwich State Hospital and Connecticut Valley Hospital. She retired in 1999 and returned to Texas to live near her sons and become a full-time grandmother.

She is preceded in death by her parents; siblings Barney Walters and Dorothy Sodders; and long-time companion Norman Smiley of Preston, Connecticut.

She is survived by her sons Cyrus "Cy" Parks, of Springfield, Missouri, and Craig Parks, of Houston, Texas; her daughters-in-law Kirsten Parks and Ruth Parks; and her grandchildren – Sister Felicity (Madeleine) Parks, Henry Parks, Wesley Parks, Jillian Parks, and Zachary Parks.

Betty was known and loved for her care and support of others as a friend, nurse, mother, and grandmother. As a single parent she worked long hours, bought her own house, and put her kids through college, making lifetime friendships along the way. She thoroughly enjoyed and loved on her family until her sudden end.

A celebration of life and burial of her ashes in Connecticut is being planned for this Spring 2022.

In lieu of flowers, donations are encouraged in Betty's honor to The Community of St. Mary – Southern Province in Sewanee, TN (www.communityofstmarysouth.org).